Negotiations
Health diplomacy takes place in a diversity of global and regional fora. We monitor a number of on-going negotiations to facilitate stronger engagement from a broader range of actors and countries in health diplomacy. For each negotiation listed below, we select relevant news stories, official documents, and relevant research papers. We strive to provide high-quality material and up-to-date information to improve the transparency of the processes.
The Economist (Sept 2, 2010) estimated that the counterfeit drug market is worth approximately $75-billion a year. Of all medicines sold worldwide, some 15 percent are counterfeit.
For the past three decades, the economic relationship between the African countries and the European Union (EU) was based on preferential trade agreements. However, the two regions are now negotiating economic partnership agreements (EPAs) covering a wide range of issues including trade in goods, services, agriculture, fisheries, investments, competition policy, and intellectual...
In 2010, the WHO established an independent review committee headed by Dr. Harvey Fineberg, to assess the functioning of the International Health Regulation (IHR) in relation to the 2009 H1N1 pandemic and review the role of the WHO’s Secretariat in support the pandemic preparedness alert and response.
The IHR require all countries to report certain disease outbreaks and public health events...
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are eight broadly supportive development goals which provide benchmarks for tackling extreme poverty. The goals, adopted at the United Nations (UN) in 2000, are set to be achieved by 2015 and are measured in terms of progress since 1990.
The Intergovernmental Negotiating Board (INB) has met four times since February 2008 to discuss the modalities of this Protocol. Parties will meet a fifth time in Geneva from the 5 to 10 of March, 2012 with a view to finalize the text of a draft protocol to eliminate illicit trade in tobacco products.
The UN General Assembly held a High-Level meeting on non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in New York from September 19-20, 2011. This was the first time that the world’s leaders have convened to discuss potential concerted action to address the challenges posed by NCDs, and the second time ever that the UN General Assembly has focused on global health, following its Special Session on HIV/AIDS in...
The negotiations among WHO Member states began in 2007 when the World Health Assembly adopted a resolution to review the existing system for sharing influenza samples.
Over the past five decades, the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Influenza Surveillance Network has grown into a system of over 100 National Influenza Centres in 90 countries. The Network collects and analyzes...
In 2010 the 63rd World Health Assembly (WHA) established the Consultative Expert Working Group on Research and Development: Financing and Coordination (CEWG).
66th World Health Assembly, May 20-28, 2013
The World Health Assembly is the supreme decision-making body of WHO. It is attended by delegations from all WHO Member States and focuses on a specific health agenda prepared by the Executive Board.
The main functions of the World Health Assembly are to determine the policies of the Organization, appoint the Director-General, supervise financial...
This section contains the various meeting companions produced by GHD-NET.org and made available to the public.
The World Health Organization (WHO) is embarking on the most extensive administrative, managerial, and financial reforms in its 63-year history. While reform discussions started in 2010 under the title “Future Financing for the WHO,” they now encompass an organization-wide reform. The debate has expanded to include questions around the WHO’s position within today’s fragmented global health...
The Global Fund is a public-private partnership and international financing mechanism dedicated to the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.